Private branch exchange (PBX), voice store equipment, message processing method, program and recording medium

ABSTRACT

A PBX which accommodates an extension station and voice store equipment, the PBX comprising a controller for controlling interconnection between the extension or the voice store equipment and an outside line, the controller including: a destination extension number determination unit for determining the destination extension number for an incoming call from the outside line; a destination extension determination unit for determining whether the destination extension is the extension station or the voice store equipment based on the determined destination extension number; a voice store equipment termination processing unit for performing termination processing concerning the voice store equipment in case it is determined on the destination extension determination means that the destination extension is the voice store equipment; and an extension station termination processing unit for performing termination processing concerning the extension station in case it is determined on the destination extension determination unit that the destination extension is the extension station.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a private branch exchange (PBX)which connects to voice store equipment and supplies a message to anoutside line, voice store equipment connected to the PBX, a messageprocessing method in the PBX and the voice store equipment, a programfor executing the processing method and a recording medium on which theprogram is recorded.

[0002]FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory drawing of the operation of inrelated art PBX and voice store equipment.

[0003] In FIG. 15, a numeral 1 represents a PBX which controlsinterconnection of its built-in voice store equipment 2 or extensionstation 3, 4 mentioned later and an outside line, and 2 voice storeequipment which supplies a guidance message in response to an incomingcall from the outside line.

[0004] Processing of an absence message in the PBX, extension stationand voice store equipment thus configured is described below.

[0005] When the user of the extension station 3, 4 leaves his/her desk,he/she sets the reason for the absence on the extension station 3, 4.Contents of setting include text data such as “Go Home” and “In aMeeting” and text data plus numerical data such as “Back at %%:%%”(where %% is the time he/she will return) When an incoming call fromanother extension station terminates to an extension station where thereason for absence is set, for example when an incoming call from theextension station 3 terminates to the extension station 4, text data ofthe reason for absence set to the called extension station 3 isdisplayed on the LCD 31 of the calling extension station 4 while thebell is ringing.

[0006]FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the related art absence messageprocessing.

[0007] In FIG. 16, the PBX system determines whether the calledextension (distant extension for example the extension station 4) isbusy (S1). In case it is determined that the called extension is notbusy, the PBX system determines whether an absence message to anextension is set (S2). In case it is determined that the absence messageis set, the PBX system fetches the contents of the absentee message (S3)and displays them on the LCD 31 of the calling extension (homeextension, for example the extension station 3) (S4). In case it isdetermined that the called extension is busy, a busy signal istransmitted from the called party to the calling party (S5). In case itis determined that the absence message to the extension is not set, thePBX system alerts the distant extension (S6).

[0008] In such a PBX system, in case a call from an outside lineterminates to the voice store equipment 2 and the call is transferred toan extension station requested by the caller, for example the extensionstation 4, the voice store equipment 2 performs only the regularoperation for the absence of the called party. For example, the voicestore equipment supplies an OGM (personal greeting message) to theeffect that “Sorry, cannot answer your call. Please record yourmessage.” and performs message recording.

[0009] In this way, related art PBX and voice store equipment has aproblem that an absence message set to an extension station is notsupplied in response to and incoming from an outside line, so the reasonfor absence is not known and the absence message is not efficientlyutilized.

[0010] It is requested that the PBX, voice store equipment, messageprocessing method, program and recording medium efficiently utilize anabsence message set to an extension station by transmitting the messageover an outside line in response to an incoming call via the outsideline.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In order to satisfy the request, the invention aims at providinga PBX which can efficiently utilize an absence message set to anextension station in response to an incoming call via an outside line,voice store equipment which can efficiently utilize an absence messageset to an extension station in response to an incoming call via anoutside line, a message processing method which can efficiently utilizean absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call via an outside line, a program for executing the messageprocessing method, and a recording medium on which the program isrecorded.

[0012] In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a PBXwhich can accommodate an extension station and voice store equipment,the PBX comprising a controller for controlling interconnection betweenthe extension or the voice store equipment and an outside line,characterized in that the controller comprises: destination extensionnumber determination means for determining the destination extensionnumber for an incoming call from the outside line; destination extensiondetermination means for determining whether the destination extension isthe extension station or the voice store equipment based on thedetermined destination extension number; voice store equipmenttermination processing means for performing termination processingconcerning the voice store equipment in case it is determined on thedestination extension determination means that the destination extensionis the voice store equipment, the termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message; and extension stationtermination processing means for performing termination processingconcerning the extension station in case it is determined on thedestination extension determination means that the destination extensionis the extension station, the termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message.

[0013] This provides a PBX which can efficiently utilize an absencemessage set to an extension station in response to an incoming call froman outside line.

[0014] In order to solve the problems, the invention provides voicestore equipment which stores messages and guidance, the voice storeequipment connectable to a PBX, characterized in that the voice storeequipment comprises: incoming call detection determination means fordetermining whether an incoming signal from the PBX is received;incoming source determination means for determining whether the incomingsource is an extension or an outside line in case the incoming callsignal from the PBX is detected by the incoming call detectiondetermination means; extension termination processing means forperforming termination processing concerning an extension in case it isdetermined on the incoming source determination means that the incomingsource is an extension, the termination processing including processingconcerning an absent message; and outside line termination processingmeans for performing termination processing concerning an outside linein case it is determined on the incoming source determination means thatthe incoming source is an outside line, the termination processingincluding processing concerning an absent message.

[0015] This provides voice store equipment which can efficiently utilizean absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call from an outside line.

[0016] In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a messageprocessing method for a PBX which can accommodate an extension stationand voice store equipment, the PBX comprising a controller forcontrolling interconnection between the extension or the voice storeequipment and an outside line, characterized in that the methodcomprises: a destination extension number determining step ofdetermining the extension number of a destination of an incoming callfrom an outside line; a destination extension determining step ofdetermining whether the destination extension is the extension stationor the voice store equipment based on the determined destinationextension number; a voice store equipment termination processing step ofperforming termination processing concerning the voice store equipmentin case it is determined that the destination extension is the voicestore equipment in the destination extension determining step, thetermination processing including processing concerning an absentmessage; and an extension station termination processing step ofperforming termination processing concerning the extension station incase it is determined that the destination extension is the extensionstation in the destination extension determining step, the terminationprocessing including processing concerning an absent message.

[0017] This provides a message processing method which can efficientlyutilize an absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call from an outside line.

[0018] In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a programfor executing the steps of the message processing method.

[0019] This provides a program for executing the message processingmethod.

[0020] In order to solve the problems, the invention provides acomputer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

[0021] This provides a recording medium on which the program isrecorded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a private branch exchange (PBX)system comprising a PBX according to Embodiment 1 of the invention;

[0023]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the voice store equipment inFIG. 1;

[0024]FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing of the operation of terminationof a call from an outside line to voice store equipment;

[0025]FIG. 4 is another explanatory drawing of the operation oftermination of a call from an outside line to voice store equipment;

[0026]FIG. 5 is another explanatory drawing of the operation oftermination of a call from an outside line to voice store equipment;

[0027]FIG. 6 is an explanatory drawing of the operation of terminationof a call from an outside line to an extension;

[0028]FIG. 7 is another explanatory drawing of the operation oftermination of a call from an outside line to an extension;

[0029]FIG. 8 is a data diagram showing the message contents and a voicemessage;

[0030]FIG. 9A A is a block diagram showing the function implementationmeans in the controller 11 of the PBX 1 according to Embodiment 1 of theinvention;

[0031]FIG. 9B is a block diagram showing the voice store equipmenttermination processing means in FIG. 9A;

[0032]FIG. 9C is a block diagram showing the extension stationtermination processing means in FIG. 9A;

[0033]FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller ofthe PBX;

[0034]FIG. 11 is another flowchart showing the operation of thecontroller of the PBX;

[0035]FIG. 12 is another flowchart showing the operation of thecontroller of the PBX;

[0036]FIG. 13A is a block diagram showing the function implementationmeans in the controller of the voice store equipment according toEmbodiment 1 of the invention;

[0037]FIG. 13B is a block diagram showing the extension terminationprocessing means in FIG. 13A;

[0038]FIG. 13C is a block diagram showing the outside line terminationprocessing means in FIG. 13A;

[0039]FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller ofthe voice store equipment shown in FIG. 13;

[0040]FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory drawing of the operation of inrelated art PBX and voice store equipment; and

[0041]FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing FIG. 16 is a flow chart showingthe related art absence message processing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] Embodiments of the invention are described referring to FIGS. 1through 14.

[0043] (Embodiment 1)

[0044]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a private branch exchange (PBX)system comprising a PBX according to Embodiment 1 of the invention. InFIG. 1, a numeral 1 represents a PBX, 2 voice store equipment whichstores messages and guidance and is connectable to the PBX 1, 3, 4extension stations, 11 a controller for controlling interconnectionbetween the extension 3, 4 or the voice store equipment 2 and an outsideline, 12 a switch whose connection is controlled by the controller 11,13, 14 outside line interface circuits (outside line I/F circuits)connected to outside lines (PSTN lines in this example).

[0045] Numerals 15, 16 represent extension interface circuits (extensionI/F circuits) connected to an extension (extension station 3, 4 or voicestore equipment 2). A numeral 17 represents a storage section comprisingan absence message assignment table 171 for storing the assignment of anabsence message and an absence message table 172 for storing an absencemessage, 18 an absence message transmission managing section formanaging transmission of an absence message, 19 a memory, 41 a displaysection for displaying an absence message, and 42 an input section forinputting data such as an absence message. As shown in FIG. 1, each ofthe outside line interface circuit and an extension interface circuitcomprises a plurality of circuits.

[0046]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the voice store equipment 2 inFIG. 1. In FIG. 2, a numeral 1 represents voice store equipment similarto that in FIG. 1, 15, 16 extension interface circuits similar to thosein FIG. 1, 21 a controller for controlling the entire voice storeequipment 2, 22 a switch whose connection is controlled by thecontroller 21, 23, 24 line interface circuits (line I/F circuits)connected to the extension interface circuits 15, 16 of the PBX 1, 25 amessage storage section for storing messages, 26 a guidance storagesection for storing guidance, 27 an absence message-to-voice converterfor converting an absence message received from an extension station viathe PBX 1 to a voice message, and 28 a memory.

[0047] Next, operation of thus configured PBX system is describedreferring to FIGS. 3 through 8. FIGS. 3 through 5 are explanatorydrawings showing a case where an incoming call from an outside line hasterminated to the voice store equipment 2. FIGS. 6 and 7 show a casewhere an incoming call from an outside line has terminated to anextension. FIG. 8 is a data diagram showing the message contents andvoice messages. Operation of call termination from an extension toanother extension is the same as that in the related art.

[0048] Operation of a case where an incoming call from an outside linehas terminated to the voice store equipment 2 is described below. Asshown in FIG. 3, the voice store equipment 2 transfers an incoming callfrom an outside line to a specified extension (the extension station 3in this example). Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the PBX 1 communicates tothe voice store equipment 2 that the absence message “Go Home” is set tothe extension station 3. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the voice storeequipment 2, receiving the notice, converts the absence message “GoHome” to the voice message “I have already left for home.” on theabsence message-to-voice converter 27 and adds guidance as shown in FIG.8 to transmit the voice “This is XX. I have already left for home.Please record your message”to an outside line. The message contents aretransmitted to an outside line in this way. It is thus possible tocommunicate correct and detailed message contents to the talker at thecalling end.

[0049] Next, operation of a case where an incoming call from an outsideline has terminated to an extension (the extension station 3 in thisexample) 2 is described below. As shown in FIG. 6, in case an incomingcall from an outside line (call to be transferred to the voice storeequipment 2) has terminated to the extension station 3, the call istransferred to the voice store equipment 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, inthe transfer to the voice store equipment 2 shown in FIG. 6, thecontents of the absence message at the transfer-from extension istransmitted to the voice store equipment 2 via the PBX 1. Operation ofreception of the absence message is the same as that shown in FIG. 5.The message contents are transmitted to an outside line in this way. Itis thus possible to communicate correct and detailed message contents tothe talker at the calling end.

[0050]FIG. 9A is a block diagram showing the function implementationmeans (means which implements a function by way of a program) in thecontroller 11 of the PBX 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.FIG. 9B is a block diagram showing the voice store equipment terminationprocessing means in FIG. 9A. FIG. 9C is a block diagram showing theextension station termination processing means in FIG. 9A.

[0051] In FIG. 9A, a numeral 111 represents destination extension numberdetermination means for determining the destination extension number foran incoming call from an outside line, 112 destination extensiondetermination means for determining whether the destination extension isthe extension station 3 (4) or voice store equipment 2 based on thedestination extension number determined on the destination extensionnumber determination means 111, 113 voice store equipment terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning thevoice store equipment in case it is determined on the destinationextension determination means that the destination extension is thevoice store equipment 2, and 114 extension station terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning theextension station in case it is determined on the destination extensiondetermination means that the destination extension is the extensionstation 3 (4).

[0052] In FIG. 9B, a numeral 113 represents voice store equipmenttermination processing means similar to that in FIG. 9A, 115 callincoming notification means for transmitting an incoming signal to thevoice store equipment 2, 116 line connection request determination meansfor determining whether a connect signal from the voice store equipment2 is received by the extension interface circuit 15 (16), 117 outsideline-to-extension connection means for connecting the voice storeequipment 2 to an outside line in response to a line connection requestfrom the voice store equipment 2, 118 line disconnection requestdetermination means for determining whether a disconnect signal from thevoice store equipment 2 is received by the extension interface circuit15 (16), and 119 line holding request determination means fordetermining whether a line holding signal from the voice store equipment2 is received by the extension interface circuit 15 (16).

[0053] A numeral 120 represents line holding means for controlling theswitch 12 so as to disconnect the bus interconnecting an outside lineinterface circuit which detected an incoming call on receiving a lineholding signal and an extension interface circuit to which the voicestore equipment 2 is connected, 121 line holding cancellation requestdetermination means for determining whether a line holding cancellationsignal from the voice store equipment 2 is received by the extensioninterface circuit 15 (16), 122 transfer request determination means fordetermining whether a transfer request signal from the voice storeequipment 2 is received by the extension interface circuit 15 (16), and123 extension alerting means for transmitting a call signal from anextension interface circuit corresponding to a transfer request signalto an extension station connected to the extension interface circuit.

[0054] A numeral 124 represents extension busy determination means fordetermining whether the transfer-to extension is busy, 125 messagesetting determination means for referencing the storage section 17 todetermine whether the transfer-to extension has set an absence message,126 message read means for fetching an absence message set by thetransfer-to extension from an absence message assignment table 171 andan absence message table 172, 127 message notification means fortransmitting the fetched absence message from the extension interfacecircuit to the voice store equipment 2.

[0055] A numeral 128 represents message transmission means forcontrolling the switch 12 to connect the voice store equipment 2 and anoutside line in order to transmit a voice message corresponding to anabsence message from the voice store equipment 2 to the outside line,129 line disconnection means for controlling the switch 12 so as todisconnect the bus so as to disconnect the bus interconnecting anoutside line interface circuit which detected an incoming call and anextension interface circuit to which the voice store equipment 2 isconnected as well as release the connection between the outside lineinterface circuit and the PSTN line, 130 extension alerting notificationmeans for notifying the voice store equipment 2 via the extensioninterface circuit that the transfer-to extension is ringing.

[0056] A numeral 131 represents extension answer determination means fordetermining whether the extension interface circuit to which thetransfer-to extension is connected has received a line connectionrequest from the transfer-to extension.

[0057] A numeral 132 represents extension connection means forcontrolling the switch 12 so as to connect the bus interconnecting anextension interface circuit to which the transfer-to extension stationis connected and an extension interface circuit to which the voice storeequipment 2 is connected, and determining that a disconnect signal fromthe voice store equipment 2 is received by the extension interfacecircuit, controlling the switch 12 so as to connect the businterconnecting the extension interface circuit to which the transfer-toextension station is connected and an outside line interface circuitwhich detected an incoming signal, that is, the bus interconnecting theextension interface circuit to which the transfer-to extension stationis connected and an outside line, and 133 extension busy notificationmeans for notifying the voice store equipment 2 via the extensioninterface circuit that the transfer-to extension is busy.

[0058] In FIG. 9C, a numeral 114 represents extension stationtermination processing means similar to that in FIG. 9A, 134 transfersetting determination means for referencing the storage section 17 todetermine whether setting is made on the extension station 3 (4) totransfer an incoming signal from the extension station 3 (4) to thevoice store equipment 2, 135 incoming signal transmission means fortransmitting an incoming signal to the voice store equipment 2 via theextension interface circuit on determining that transfer is set to thetransfer setting determination means 134, and 136 message settingdetermination means for referencing the storage section 17 to determinewhether the transfer-from extension has set an absence message.

[0059] A numeral 137 represents message read means for fetching anabsence message set by the transfer-from extension from the storagesection 17 when it the message setting determination means 136determined that the absent message is set, 138 message notificationmeans for transmitting the absence message fetched from the storagesection 17 to the voice store equipment 2 via an extension interfacecircuit, 139 line connection request determination means for determiningwhether a connection request signal is received from the voice storeequipment via an extension interface circuit, and 140 outside lineconnection means for controlling the switch 12 so as to connect the bus(channel) interconnecting an extension interface circuit which detectedan incoming call and an extension interface circuit to which the voicestore equipment 2 is connected.

[0060] Operation of thus configured controller 11 of the PBX 1 isdescribed below referring to FIGS. 10 through 12. FIGS. 10 through 12are flowcharts showing the operation of the controller 11 of the PBX 1.In FIG. 10, the destination extension number determination means 111determines the destination extension number for an incoming call from anoutside line (S11). The destination extension determination means 112determines whether the destination extension is the extension station 3(4) or voice store equipment 2 based on the destination extension numberdetermined on the destination extension number determination means 111(S12). In case it is determined on the destination extensiondetermination means 112 that the destination extension is the voicestore equipment 2 in step S12, the voice store equipment terminationprocessing means 113 performs termination processing concerning thevoice store equipment 2 (S13-S31). In case it is determined on thedestination extension determination means 112 that the destinationextension is the extension station 3 (4) in step S12, the extensionstation termination processing means 114 performs termination processingconcerning the extension station 3 (4) (S32-S32).

[0061] Termination processing concerning the voice store equipment 2 isdescribed below referring to FIGS. 10 and 11. The call incomingnotification means 115 transmits an incoming signal to the voice storeequipment 2 (S13, call incoming notification step). Next, the lineconnection request determination means 116 determines whether a connectsignal from the voice store equipment 2 is received by the extensioninterface circuit 15 (16) (S16). In case it is determined that a connectsignal is received from the voice store equipment 2, the outsideline-to-extension connection means 117 connects the voice storeequipment 2 to an outside line (S15, outside line-to-extensionconnection step).

[0062] Next, the line disconnection request determination means 118determines whether a disconnect signal from the voice store equipment 2is received by the extension interface circuit 15 (16) (S16). In case itis determined that a disconnect signal is not received, the line holdingrequest determination means 119 determines whether a line holding signalfrom the voice store equipment 2 is received by the extension interfacecircuit 15 (16) (S17). In case it is determined that a line holdingsignal is received, the line holding means 120 controls the switch 12 soas to disconnect the bus interconnecting an outside line interfacecircuit which detected an incoming call on receiving a line holdingsignal and an extension interface circuit to which the voice storeequipment 2 is connected (S18).

[0063] The line holding cancellation request determination means 121determines whether a line holding cancellation signal from the voicestore equipment 2 is received by the extension interface circuit 15 (16)(S19) In case it is determined that a line holding cancellation signalis not received, the transfer request determination means 122 determineswhether a transfer request signal from the voice store equipment 2 isreceived by the extension interface circuit 15 (16) (S20, transferrequest determination step). In case it is determined that a transferrequest signal from the voice store equipment 2 is received, theextension alerting means 123 transmits, via an extension interfacecircuit corresponding to the transfer request signal, a call signal toan extension station connected to the extension interface circuit (S21,extension alerting step).

[0064] Next, the extension busy determination means 124 determineswhether the transfer-to extension is busy (S22). In case it isdetermined that the transfer-to extension is not busy, the messagesetting determination means 125 references the storage section 17 todetermine whether the transfer-to extension has set an absence message(S23, message setting determination step). In case it is determined thatthe transfer-to extension has set an absence message, the message readmeans 126 fetches the absence message set by the transfer-to extensionfrom the absence message assignment table 171 and the absence messagetable 172 (S24,message read step).

[0065] The message notification means 127 transmits the fetched absencemessage from the extension interface circuit to the voice storeequipment 2 (S25, message notification step). The message transmissionmeans 128 controls the switch 12 to connect the voice store equipment 2and an outside line and transmits a voice message received from thevoice store equipment 2 to an outside line in order to transmit a voicemessage corresponding to an absence message from the voice storeequipment 2 to the outside line (S26, message transmission step).

[0066] In case it is determined that a disconnect signal is received instep S16, the line disconnection means 129 controls the switch 12 so asto disconnect the bus interconnecting an outside line interface circuitwhich detected an incoming call and an extension interface circuit towhich the voice store equipment 2 is connected as well as release theconnection between the outside line interface circuit and the PSTN line(S27). In case it is determined that an absence message is not set instep S23, the extension alerting notification means 130 notifies thevoice store equipment 2 via the extension interface circuit that thetransfer-to extension is ringing (S28).

[0067] The extension answer determination means 131 determines whetherthe extension interface circuit to which the transfer-to extension isconnected has received a line connection request from the transfer-toextension (S29). In case it is determined that a line connection requestis received from the transfer-to extension, the extension connectionmeans 132 controls the switch 12 so as to connect the businterconnecting an extension interface circuit to which the transfer-toextension station is connected and an extension interface circuit towhich the voice store equipment 2 is connected.

[0068] The extension connection means 132, determining that a disconnectsignal from the voice store equipment 2 is received by the extensioninterface circuit, controls the switch 12 so as to connect the businterconnecting the extension interface circuit to which the transfer-toextension station is connected and an outside line interface circuitwhich detected an incoming signal, that is, the bus interconnecting theextension interface circuit to which the transfer-to extension stationis connected and an outside line (S30). In case it is determined thatthe transfer-to extension is busy in step S22, the extension busynotification means 133 notifies the voice store equipment 2 via theextension interface circuit that the transfer-to extension is busy(S31).

[0069] Termination processing concerning the extension station 3, 4 isdescribed below referring to FIG. 12. The transfer setting determinationmeans 134 references the storage section 17 to determine whether settingis made on the extension station 3 (4) so as to transfer an incomingsignal from the extension station 3 (4) to the voice store equipment 2(S32, transfer setting determination step). In case it is determinedthat setting is made to perform transfer, the incoming signaltransmission means 135 transmits an incoming signal to the voice storeequipment 2 via an extension interface circuit (S33, incoming signaltransmission step).

[0070] Next, the message setting determination means 136 references thestorage section 17 to determine whether the transfer-from extension hasset an absence message (S34, message setting determination step) In caseit is determined that the transfer-from extension has set an absencemessage, the message read means 137 fetches the absence message set bythe transfer-from extension from the storage section 17 (S35, messageread step) The message notification means 138 transmits the absencemessage fetched from the storage section 17 to the voice store equipment2 via an extension interface circuit (S36, absence message notificationstep).

[0071] The line connection request determination means 139 determineswhether a connection request signal is received from the voice storeequipment via an extension interface circuit (S37) In case it isdetermined that a connection request signal is received, the outsideline connection means 140 controls the switch 12 so as to connect thebus interconnecting an extension interface circuit which detected anincoming call and an extension interface circuit to which the voicestore equipment 2 is connected (S38, outside line connection step).

[0072] In case it is determined that setting is not made to transfer anincoming signal from the extension station to the voice store equipmentin step S32, the line connection request determination means 139determines whether a connection request signal is received from thevoice store equipment via an extension interface circuit (S39). In caseit is determined that a connection request signal is received, theoutside line connection means 140 controls the switch 12 so as toconnect the bus interconnecting an extension interface circuit whichdetected an incoming call and an extension interface circuit to whichthe voice store equipment 2 is connected (S40).

[0073] In case it is determined that an absence message is not set instep S34, the line connection request determination means 139 determineswhether a connection request signal is received from the voice storeequipment via an extension interface circuit (S41). In case itisdetermined that a connection request signal is received, the outsideline connection means 140 controls the switch 12 so as to connect thebus interconnecting an extension interface circuit which detected anincoming call and an extension interface circuit to which the voicestore equipment 2 is connected (S42).

[0074]FIG. 13A is a block diagram showing the function implementationmeans in the controller 21 of the voice store equipment 2 according toEmbodiment 1 of the invention. FIG. 13B is a block diagram showing theextension termination processing means in FIG. 13A. FIG. 13C is a blockdiagram showing the outside line termination processing means in FIG.13A.

[0075] In FIG. 13A, a numeral 211 represents incoming call detectiondetermination means for determining whether an incoming signal from theextension interface circuit 15 (16) of the PBX 1 is detected, 212incoming source determination means for determining whether the incomingsource is an extension or an outside line from the incoming sourceinformation contained in the incoming signal received by a lineinterface circuit 23 (24) in case the incoming call signal from the PBXis detected by the incoming call detection determination means 211, 213extension termination processing means for performing terminationprocessing concerning an extension (S53-S56) in case it is determined onthe incoming source determination means 212 that the incoming source isan extension, and 214 outside line termination processing means forperforming termination processing concerning an outside line (S57-S66)in case it is determined on the incoming source determination means 212that the incoming source is an outside line.

[0076] In FIG. 13B, a numeral 213 represents extension terminationprocessing means similar to that in FIG. 13A, 215 message detectiondetermination means for determining whether an absence message containedin the incoming signal received from a calling extension is detected,216 line connection means for controlling the line interface circuit soas to connect the extension interface circuit 15 (16) of the PBX 1 andthe line interface circuit 23 (24) in case an absence message isdetected on the message detection determination means 215, 217 messageread means for controlling the switch 22 so as to connect the businterconnecting the line interface circuit and a message storage section25 as well as reading a voice message corresponding to the detectedabsence message from the message storage section 25 and transmitting theread voice message to the extension interface circuit of the PBX 1.

[0077] In FIG. 13C, a numeral 214 represents outside line terminationprocessing means similar to that in FIG. 13A, 218 line connection meansfor controlling the line interface circuit so as to connect theextension interface circuit 15 (16) of the PBX 1 and the line interfacecircuit 23 (24) (in this example establish connection to an outsideline), and 219 guidance transmission means for controlling the switch 22so as to connect the bus interconnecting the line interface circuit anda guidance storage section 26 as well as reading guidance from theguidance storage section 26.

[0078] A numeral 220 represents transfer determination means fordetermining whether a transfer instruction is detected from the incomingsignal received by the line interface circuit, 221 transfer destinationalerting request means for requesting the line interface circuit totransmit a holding request signal and an transfer-to extension number tothe extension interface circuit, or alerting the transfer-to extension,on determining that a transfer instruction is detected on the transferdetermination means 220, and 222 busy determination means fordetermining whether the line interface circuit has received from anextension interface circuit a signal indicating that the transfer-toextension is busy.

[0079] A numeral 223 represents answer determination means fordetermining whether the line interface circuit has received a signalindicating that the transfer-to extension has answered or an absencemessage is set to the transfer-to extension (answer signal) from theextension interface circuit, and 224 message detection determinationmeans for determining whether the line interface circuit has received anabsence message from the extension interface circuit, that is, whetherthe line interface circuit has detected an absence message from thereceived answer signal.

[0080] A numeral 225 represents message read means for controlling theline interface circuit so as to transmit a holding cancellation signalto an extension interface circuit and controlling the switch 22 so as toconnect the bus interconnecting the line interface circuit and themessage storage section 25 as well as reading a voice messagecorresponding to the detected absence message from the message storagesection 25 and transmitting the read voice message to the extensioninterface circuit of the PBX 1.

[0081] A numeral 226 represents transfer inhibition notification meansfor transmitting a holding cancellation signal to an extension interfacecircuit and controlling the switch 22 so as to connect the businterconnecting the message storage section 25 and a line interfacecircuit as well as reading a voice message indicating that transfer isinhibited from the message storage section 25 and transmitting the voicemessage to the extension interface circuit of the PBX 1, that is, to anoutside line, and 227 line disconnection means for controlling the lineinterface circuit so as to transmit a disconnect signal to an extensioninterface circuit.

[0082] Operation of thus configured voice store equipment 2 is describedbelow referring to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operationof the controller 21 of the voice store equipment 2 shown in FIG. 13. InFIG. 14, the incoming call detection determination means 211 determineswhether an incoming signal from the extension interface circuit 15 (16)of the PBX 1 is detected (S51, incoming call detection determinationstep). In case it is determined that an incoming signal is detected, theincoming source determination means 212 determines whether the incomingsource is an extension or an outside line from the incoming sourceinformation contained in the incoming signal received by the lineinterface circuit 23 (24) (S52, incoming source determination step) Incase it is determined that the incoming source is an extension, theextension termination processing means 213 performs terminationprocessing concerning an extension (S53-S56). In case it is determinedon the incoming source determination means 212 that the incoming sourceis an outside line, the outside line termination processing means 214performs termination processing concerning an outside line (S57-S66).

[0083] In case it is determined that the incoming source is anextension, the message detection determination means 215 determineswhether an absence message contained in the incoming signal receivedfrom the calling extension is detected (S53, message detectiondetermination step) In case it is determined that an absence message isdetected, the line connection means 216 controls the line interfacecircuit 23 (24) so as to connect the extension interface circuit 15 (16)of the PBX 1 and the line interface circuit 23 (24) (S54, lineconnection step).

[0084] Next, the message read means 217 controls the switch 22 so as toconnect the bus interconnecting the line interface circuit and themessage storage section 25 as well as reads a voice messagecorresponding to the detected absence message from the message storagesection 25 and transmitting the read voice message to the extensioninterface circuit of the PBX 1 (S55, message read step) In case it isdetermined that an absence message is not detected in step S53, the lineconnection means 216 controls the line interface circuit 23 (24) so asto connect the extension interface circuit 15 (16) of the PBX 1 and theline interface circuit 23 (24), that is, to transmit guidance to anoutside line (S56, line connection step).

[0085] In case it is determined that the incoming source is an outsideline in step S52, the line connection means 218 controls the lineinterface circuit so as to connect the extension interface circuit 15(16) of the PBX 1 and the line interface circuit 23 (24) (in thisexample establish connection to an outside line) (S57, line connectionstep). Next, the guidance transmission means 219 controls the switch 22so as to connect the bus interconnecting the line interface circuit anda guidance storage section 26 as well as reads guidance from theguidance storage section 26 (S58, guidance transmission step).

[0086] The transfer determination means 220 determines whether atransfer instruction is detected from the incoming signal received bythe line interface circuit (S59, transfer determination step). In caseit is determined that a transfer instruction is detected, the transferdestination alerting request means 221 requests the line interfacecircuit to transmit a holding request signal and an transfer-toextension number to the extension interface circuit, or alerts thetransfer-to extension (S60, transfer destination alerting request step)

[0087] Next, the busy determination means 222 determines whether theline interface circuit has received from an extension interface circuita signal indicating that the transfer-to extension is busy (S61). Incase its is determined that a signal indicating that the transfer-toextension is busy is not received, the answer determination means 223determines whether the line interface circuit has received a signalindicating that the transfer-to extension has answered or an absencemessage is set to the transfer-to extension (answer signal) from theextension interface circuit (S62).

[0088] In case it is determined that an answer signal is received, themessage detection determination means 224 determines whether the lineinterface circuit has received an absence message from the extensioninterface circuit, that is, whether the line interface circuit hasdetected an absence message from the received answer signal (S63,message detection determination step). In case it is determined that anabsence message is detected from the answer signal, the message readmeans 225 controls the line interface circuit so as to transmit aholding cancellation signal to an extension interface circuit andcontrols the switch 22 so as to connect the bus interconnecting the lineinterface circuit and the message storage section 25 as well as reads avoice message corresponding to the detected absence message from themessage storage section 25 and transmits the read voice message to theextension interface circuit of the PBX 1 (S64, message read step).

[0089] In case it is determined that a signal indicating that thetransfer-to extension is busy is received in step S61, the transferinhibition notification means 226 transmits a holding cancellationsignal to an extension interface circuit and controls the switch 22 soas to connect the bus interconnecting the message storage section 25 anda line interface circuit as well as reads a voice message indicatingthat transfer is inhibited from the message storage section 25 andtransmits the voice message to the extension interface circuit of thePBX 1, that is, to an outside line (S65). In case it is determined thatan answer signal is not received in step S62, the line disconnectionmeans 227 controls the line interface circuit so as to transmit adisconnect signal to an extension interface circuit (S66).

[0090] According to this embodiment, the controller 11 comprises:destination extension number determination means 111 for determining thedestination extension number for an incoming call from the outside line;destination extension determination means 112 for determining whetherthe destination extension is the extension station 3, 4 or the voicestore equipment 2 based on the determined destination extension number;voice store equipment termination processing means 113 for performingtermination processing concerning the voice store equipment in case itis determined on the destination extension determination means 112 thatthe destination extension is the voice store equipment 2; and extensionstation termination processing means 114 for performing terminationprocessing concerning the extension station in case it is determined onthe destination extension determination means 112 that the destinationextension is the extension station. This makes it possible to determinewhether the destination extension is voice store equipment or anextension and appropriately process an absence message set to anextension station depending on an incoming call to the voice storeequipment or extension station. As a result, it is possible toefficiently utilize an absence message set to an extension station inresponse to an incoming call from an outside line. While an incomingcall from an outside line is described hereinabove, an incoming callfrom an extension is processed the same way. In this case, a destinationextension number is specified to an incoming call from an extension sothat the destination extension number determination means or destinationextension determination means discussed above is not used.

[0091] The voice store equipment termination processing means 113comprises: call incoming notification means 115 for transmitting anincoming signal to the voice store equipment; outside line-to-extensionconnection means 117 for connecting the voice store equipment to anoutside line in response to a line connection request from the voicestore equipment; transfer request determination means 122 fordetermining whether a transfer request signal is received from the voicestore equipment; extension alerting means 123 for alerting atransfer-requested extension station in case it is determined that atransfer request is determined by the transfer request determinationmeans 122; message setting determination means 125 for determiningwhether the transfer-requested extension has set an absence message;message read means 126 for fetching an absence message from an extensionstation in case it is determined that an absence message is set on themessage setting determination means 125; message notification means 127for communicating the absence message fetched from the extension stationto the voice store equipment; and message transmission means 128 forconnecting the voice store equipment and the outside line in order totransmit a voice message corresponding to the absence message from thevoice store equipment 2 to the outside line. In case the destinationextension is voice store equipment and an absence message is set to anextension station, the absence message is fetched from the extensionstation and communicated to the voice store equipment, and a voicemessage corresponding to the communicated absence message is transmittedto an outside line. It is thus possible to efficiently utilize anabsence message set to an extension station in response to an incomingcall from an outside line.

[0092] The voice store equipment termination processing means 113further comprises extension connection means 132 for releasing theconnection between the voice store equipment and the transfer-requestedextension station and connecting the transfer-requested extensionstation and an outside line in case it is determined that an absencemessage is not set on the message setting determination means 125. Anextension station and an outside line are interconnected as an ordinaryprocedure in case an absence message is not detected and a call isnormally established.

[0093] Further, the extension station termination processing means 114comprises: transfer setting determination means 134 for referencing astorage section to determine whether transfer to the voice storeequipment is set to the destination extension station; incoming signaltransmission means for transmitting an incoming call to the voice storeequipment in case the transfer setting determination means hasdetermined that the transfer is set; message setting determination means136 for referencing the storage section 17 to determine whether anabsence message is set to the destination extension station; messageread means 137 for fetching an absence message from the storage section17 in case the message setting determination means 136 has determinedthat an absence message is set; message notification means 138 forcommunicating the absence message fetched from the storage section 17 tothe voice store equipment; and outside line connection means 140 forconnecting the voice store equipment and an outside line in order totransmit a voice message corresponding to the communicated absencemessage from the voice store equipment 2 to an outside line in responseto a line connection request from the voice store equipment. In case thedestination extension is an extension station and an absence message isset to the extension station, the absence message is fetched from theextension station and communicated to the voice store equipment, and avoice message corresponding to the communicated absence message istransmitted to an outside line. It is thus possible to efficientlyutilize an absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call from an outside line.

[0094] The controller 21 further comprises: incoming call detectiondetermination means 211 for determining whether an incoming signal fromthe PBX 1 is detected; incoming source determination means 212 fordetermining whether the incoming source is an extension or an outsideline in case the incoming call signal is detected by the incoming calldetection determination means 211; extension termination processingmeans 213 for performing termination processing concerning an extensionin case it is determined on the incoming source determination means 212that the incoming source is an extension; and outside line terminationprocessing means 214 for performing termination processing concerning anoutside line in case it is determined on the incoming sourcedetermination means 212 that the incoming source is an outside line. Itis thus possible to determine whether the incoming source is anextension or an outside line. When it is determined that the incomingsource is an extension, termination processing concerning an extensionis performed. When it is determined that the incoming source is anoutside line, termination processing concerning an outside line isperformed. It is thus possible to appropriately process an absencemessage set to an extension station in the voice store equipmentconnected to the PBX. It is thus possible to efficiently utilize anabsence message set to an extension station in response to an incomingcall from an outside line.

[0095] The extension termination processing means 213 comprises: messagedetection determination means 215 for determining whether an absencemessage contained in an incoming signal is detected; line connectionmeans 216 for connecting to the PBX via a line interface circuit in caseit is determined on the message detection determination means 215 thatan absence message is detected; and message read means 217 for reading avoice message corresponding to the detected absence message andtransmitting the read voice message to the PBX. In case the incomingsource is an extension and an absence message is set to an extensionstation, the absence message contained in an incoming signal is detectedand a voice message corresponding to the detected absence message istransmitted to an outside line. It is thus possible to efficientlyutilize an absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call from an outside line via an extension.

[0096] The outside line termination processing means 214 comprises: lineconnection means 218 for connecting to an outside line; guidancetransmission means 219 for transmitting guidance; transfer determinationmeans 220 for determining whether a transfer instruction is detectedfrom an incoming signal; transfer destination alerting request means 221for alerting the transfer-to extension on determining that a transferinstruction is detected on the transfer determination means 220; messagedetection determination means 224 for determining whether an absencemessage is detected from an answer signal in case the alertedtransfer-to extension is not busy and an answer signal is received fromthe alerted transfer-to extension; and message read means 225 forreading a voice message corresponding to a detected absence message andtransmitting the read voice message to the PBX in case the absencemessage is detected on the message detection determination means 224. Incase the incoming source is an outside line and an absence message isset to an extension station, the absence message contained in an answersignal from the extension station is detected and a voice messagecorresponding to the detected absence message is transmitted to anoutside line. It is thus possible to efficiently utilize an absencemessage set to an extension station in response to an incoming calldirectly from an outside line.

[0097] According to the present invention, in case the destinationextension is voice store equipment and an absence message is set to anextension station, the absence message is fetched from the extensionstation and the fetched absence message is communicated to the voicestore equipment and a voice message corresponding to the communicatedabsence message is transmitted to an outside line. It is thus possibleto efficiently utilize an absence message set to an extension station inresponse to an incoming call from an outside line.

[0098] Further, according to the invention, in case the destinationextension is an extension and an absence message is set to an extensionstation, the absence message is fetched from the extension station andthe fetched absence message is communicated to the voice store equipmentand a voice message corresponding to the communicated absence message istransmitted to an outside line. It is thus possible to efficientlyutilize an absence message set to an extension station in response to anincoming call from an outside line.

[0099] The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained inpriority Japanese Patent Application Nos.2003-120005 filed on Apr. 24,2003 and 2004-30340 filed on Feb. 6, 2004, the contents of which areherein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A private branch exchange (PBX) whichaccommodates an extension station and voice store equipment, said PBXcomprising a controller for controlling interconnection between saidextension or said voice store equipment and an outside line, whereinsaid controller comprises: destination extension number determinationmeans for determining the destination extension number for an incomingcall from the outside line; destination extension determination meansfor determining whether the destination extension is said extensionstation or said voice store equipment based on said determineddestination extension number; voice store equipment terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning saidvoice store equipment in case it is determined on said destinationextension determination means that the destination extension is saidvoice store equipment, said termination processing including processingconcerning an absent message; and extension station terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning saidextension station in case it is determined on said destination extensiondetermination means that the destination extension is said extensionstation, said termination processing including processing concerning anabsent message.
 2. The PBX according to claim 1, wherein said voicestore equipment termination processing means comprises: call incomingnotification means for transmitting an incoming signal to the voicestore equipment; outside line-to-extension connection means forconnecting said voice store equipment to an outside line in response toa line connection request from said voice store equipment; transferrequest determination means for determining whether a transfer requestto said extension station is received from said voice store equipment;extension alerting means for alerting said transfer-requested extensionstation in case it is determined that said transfer request is detectedby said transfer request determination means; message settingdetermination means for determining whether said transfer-requestedextension has set an absence message; message read means for fetching anabsence message from a storage section in case it is determined that anabsence message is set on said message setting determination means;message notification means for communicating said absence messagefetched from said storage section to said voice store equipment; andmessage transmission means for connecting said voice store equipment andsaid outside line in order to transmit a voice message corresponding tosaid communicated absence message from said voice store equipment tosaid outside line.
 3. The PBX according to claim 2, wherein said voicestore equipment termination processing means further comprises extensionconnection means for releasing the connection between said voice storeequipment and said transfer-requested extension station and connectingsaid transfer-requested extension station and an outside line in case itis determined that an absence message is not set on said message settingdetermination means.
 4. The PBX according to claim 1, wherein saidextension station termination processing means comprises: transfersetting determination means for referencing a storage section todetermine whether transfer to said voice store equipment is set to thedestination extension station; incoming signal transmission means fortransmitting an incoming call to said voice store equipment in case saidtransfer setting determination means has determined that said transferis set; message setting determination means for referencing said storagesection to determine whether an absence message is set to saiddestination extension station; message read means for fetching anabsence message from said storage section in case the message settingdetermination means has determined that an absence message is set;message notification means for communicating said absence messagefetched from said storage section to said voice store equipment; andoutside line connection means for connecting said voice store equipmentand said outside line in order to transmit a voice message correspondingto the communicated absence message from said voice store equipment tosaid outside line in response to a line connection request from saidvoice store equipment.
 5. Voice store equipment comprising a controller,said vice store equipment connectable to a PBX via a line interfacecontrolled by said controller, wherein said controller comprises:incoming call detection determination means for determining whether anincoming signal from said PBX is received; incoming source determinationmeans for determining whether the incoming source is an extension or anoutside line in case said incoming call signal from said PBX is detectedby said incoming call detection determination means; extensiontermination processing means for performing termination processingconcerning an extension in case it is determined on said incoming sourcedetermination means that the incoming source is an extension, saidtermination processing including processing concerning an absentmessage; and outside line termination processing means for performingtermination processing concerning an outside line in case it isdetermined on said incoming source determination means that the incomingsource is an outside line, said termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message.
 6. The voice store equipmentaccording to claim 5, wherein said extension termination processingmeans comprises: message detection means for determining whether anabsence message contained in said incoming signal is detected; lineconnection means for connecting to said PBX via said line interfacecircuit in case said message detection determination means has detectedan absence message; and message read means for reading a voice messagecorresponding to said detected absence message and transmitting saidvoice message to said PBX.
 7. The voice store equipment according toclaim 5, wherein said outside line termination processing meanscomprises: line connection means for connecting to an outside line;guidance transmission means for transmitting guidance; transferdetermination means for determining whether a transfer instruction isdetected; transfer destination alerting request means for alerting thetransfer-to extension on determining that a transfer instruction isdetected on the transfer determination means; message detectiondetermination means for determining whether an absence message isdetected from an answer signal in response to alert of said transfer-toextension; and message read means for reading a voice messagecorresponding to said detected absence message and transmitting saidvoice message to said PBX on determining that the absence message isdetected on said message detection determination means.
 8. A messageprocessing method for a PBX which accommodates an extension station andvoice store equipment, said PBX comprising a controller for controllinginterconnection between said extension or said voice store equipment andan outside line, wherien said method comprises: a destination extensionnumber determining step of determining the extension number of adestination of an incoming call from an outside line; a destinationextension determining step of determining whether the destinationextension is said extension station or said voice store equipment basedon said determined destination extension number; a voice store equipmenttermination processing step of performing termination processingconcerning said voice store equipment in case it is determined that thedestination extension is said voice store equipment in said destinationextension determining step, said termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message; and an extension stationtermination processing step of performing termination processingconcerning said extension station in case it is determined that thedestination extension is said extension station in said destinationextension determining step, said termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message.
 9. A message processing methodaccording to claim 8, wherein said voice store equipment terminationprocessing step comprises: a call incoming notification step oftransmitting an incoming signal to the voice store equipment; an outsideline-to-extension connection step of connecting said voice storeequipment to an outside line in response to a line connection requestfrom said voice store equipment; a transfer request determination stepof determining whether a transfer request to said extension station isreceived from said voice store equipment; an extension alerting step ofalerting said transfer-requested extension station in case it isdetermined that said transfer request is detected in said transferrequest determination step; a message setting determination step ofdetermining whether said transfer-requested extension has set an absencemessage; a message read step for fetching an absence message from astorage section in case it is determined that an absence message is setin said message setting determination step; a message notification stepof communicating said absence message fetched from said storage sectionto said voice store equipment; and a message transmission step ofconnecting said voice store equipment and said outside line in order totransmit a voice message corresponding to said communicated absencemessage from said voice store equipment to said outside line.
 10. Themessage processing method according to claim 9, wherein said voice storeequipment termination processing step further comprises an extensionconnection step of releasing the connection between said voice storeequipment and said transfer-requested extension station and connectingsaid transfer-requested extension station and an outside line in case itis determined that an absence message is not set in said message settingdetermination step.
 11. The message processing method according to claim8, wherein said extension station termination processing step comprises:a transfer setting determination step of referencing a storage sectionto determine whether transfer to said voice store equipment is set tothe destination extension station; an incoming signal transmission stepof transmitting an incoming call to said voice store equipment in casesaid transfer setting determination means has determined that saidtransfer is set; a message setting determination step of referencingsaid storage section to determine whether an absence message is set tosaid destination extension station; a message read step of fetching anabsence message from said storage section in case the message settingdetermination means has determined that an absence message is set; amessage notification step of communicating said absence message fetchedfrom said storage section to said voice store equipment; and an outsideline connection step of connecting said voice store equipment and saidoutside line in order to transmit a voice message corresponding to thecommunicated absence message from said voice store equipment to saidoutside line in response to a line connection request from said voicestore equipment.
 12. A message processing method for voice storeequipment comprising a controller, said voice store equipmentconnectable to a PBX via a line interface controlled by said controller,wherein said method comprises: an incoming call detection determinationstep of determining whether an incoming signal from said PBX isreceived; an incoming source determination step of determining whetherthe incoming source is an extension or an outside line in case saidincoming call signal from said PBX is detected by said incoming calldetection determination means; an extension termination processing stepof performing termination processing concerning an extension in case itis determined on said incoming source determination means that theincoming source is an extension, said termination processing includingprocessing concerning an absent message; and an outside line terminationprocessing step of performing termination processing concerning anoutside line in case it is determined on said incoming sourcedetermination means that the incoming source is an outside line, saidtermination processing including processing concerning an absentmessage.
 13. The message processing method according to claim 12,wherein said extension termination processing step comprises: a messagedetection determination step of determining whether an absence messagecontained in said incoming signal is detected; a line connection step ofconnecting to said PBX via said line interface circuit in case saidmessage detection determination ste@ has detected an absence message;and a message read step of reading a voice message corresponding to saiddetected absence message and transmitting said voice message to saidPBX.
 14. The message processing method according to claim 12, whereinsaid outside line termination processing step comprises: a lineconnection step of connecting to an outside line; a guidancetransmission step of transmitting guidance; a transfer determinationstep of determining whether a transfer instruction is detected from saidincoming signal; a transfer destination alerting request step ofalerting the transfer-to extension on determining that a transferinstruction is detected on the transfer determination means; a messagedetection determination step of determining whether an absence messageis detected from an answer signal in response to alert of saidtransfer-to extension; and a message read step of reading a voicemessage corresponding to said detected absence message and transmittingsaid voice message to said PBX in case the absence message is detectedin said message detection determination step.
 15. A PBX whichaccommodates an extension station and voice store equipment, said PBXcomprising a controller for controlling interconnection between saidextension or said voice store equipment and an outside line, whereinsaid controller comprises: destination extension number determinationmeans for determining the destination extension number for an incomingcall from the outside line; destination extension determination meansfor determining whether the destination extension is said extensionstation or said voice store equipment based on said determineddestination extension number; and voice store equipment terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning saidvoice store equipment in case it is determined on said destinationextension determination means that the destination extension is saidvoice store equipment; and wherein said voice store equipmenttermination processing means further comprises: message settingdetermination means for determining whether an absence message is set tosaid extension station when a request for transfer to an extensionstation is made; and message transmission means for connecting saidvoice store equipment and said outside line in order to transmit a voicemessage corresponding to said communicated absence message from saidvoice store equipment to said outside line.
 16. The PBX according toclaim 15, wherein said voice store equipment termination processingmeans further comprises extension connection means for connecting saidtransfer-requested extension station and an outside line in case it isdetermined that an absence message is not set on said message settingdetermination means.
 17. A PBX which accommodates an extension stationand voice store equipment, said PBX comprising a controller forcontrolling interconnection between said extension or said voice storeequipment and an outside line, wherein said controller comprises:destination extension number determination means for determining thedestination extension number for an incoming call from the outside line;destination extension determination means for determining whether thedestination extension is said extension station or said voice storeequipment based on said determined destination extension number; andextension station termination processing means for performingtermination processing concerning said extension station in case it isdetermined on said destination extension determination means that thedestination extension is said extension station; and wherein saidextension station termination processing means further comprises:message setting determination means for determining whether an absencemessage is set to the destination extension station in case transfer tosaid voice store equipment is set to the destination extension station;and outside line connection means for connecting said voice storeequipment and said outside line in order to transmit a voice messagecorresponding to said absence message to an outside line in case it isdetermined on said message setting determination means that an absencemessage is set.
 18. The PBX according to claim 17, wherein said PBXfurther comprises extension connection means for connecting saidtransfer-requested extension station and an outside line in case it isdetermined that an absence message is not set on said message settingdetermination means.
 19. Voice store equipment comprising a storagesection for storing messages and guidance, a switch for controlling theconnection to a line interface, and a controller said voice storeequipment connectable to a PBX via said line interface, characterized inthat said controller comprises: incoming call detection determinationmeans for determining whether an incoming signal from said PBX isreceived; incoming source determination means for determining whetherthe incoming source is an extension or an outside line in case saidincoming call signal from said PBX is detected by said incoming calldetection determination means; and extension termination processingmeans for performing termination processing concerning an extension incase it is determined on said incoming source determination means thatthe incoming source is an extension; and that said extension terminationprocessing means comprises message read means for connecting to said PBXvia said line interface circuit in case it is determined that an absencemessage contained in said incoming signal is detected, and reading avoice message corresponding to said absence message and transmitting thevoice message to said PBX.
 20. Voice store equipment comprising astorage section for storing messages and guidance, a switch forcontrolling the connection to a line interface, and a controller saidvoice store equipment connectable to a PBX via said line interface,characterized in that said controller comprises: incoming call detectiondetermination means for determining whether an incoming signal from saidPBX is received; incoming source determination means for determiningwhether the incoming source is an extension or an outside line in casesaid incoming call signal from said PBX is detected by said incomingcall detection determination means; and outside line terminationprocessing means for performing termination processing concerning anextension in case it is determined on said incoming source determinationmeans that the incoming source is an outside line; and that said outsideline termination processing means further comprises: transferdestination alerting request means for alerting the transfer-toextension on determining that a transfer instruction is detected fromsaid incoming signal; message detection determination means fordetermining whether an absence message is detected from an answer signalin response to alert of said transfer-to extension; and message readmeans for reading a voice message corresponding to said detected absencemessage and transmitting said voice message to said PBX on determiningthat the absence message is detected on said message detectiondetermination means.
 21. A PBX which can accommodate an extensionstation and voice store equipment, said PBX comprising a controller forperforming termination processing concerning said voice store equipmenton determining that a call destined for said voice store equipment ispresent, characterized in that said controller comprises: messagesetting determination means for determining whether an absence messageis set to a transfer-requested extension station in response to atransfer request from said voice store equipment after said voice storeequipment answered said call; message read means for fetching an absencemessage from a storage section in case it is determined that an absencemessage is set on said transfer setting determination means; messagenotification means for communicating said absence message fetched fromsaid storage section to said voice store equipment; and messagetransmission means for connecting said voice store equipment and saidoutside line in order to transmit a voice message corresponding to saidcommunicated absence message to said outside line.
 22. A PBX which canaccommodate an extension station and voice store equipment, said PBXcomprising a controller for performing termination processing concerningsaid voice store equipment on determining that a call destined for saidextension station is present, characterized in that said controllercomprises: transfer setting determination means for referencing astorage section to determined whether transfer to said voice storeequipment is set to said destination extension station; message settingdetermination means for determining whether an absence message is set tosaid destination extension station in case it is determined that saidtransfer is set on said transfer setting determination means; messageread means for fetching an absence message from a storage section ondetermining that an absence message is set on said message settingdetermination means; message notification means for communicating saidabsence message fetched from said storage section to said voice storeequipment; and outside line connection means for connecting said voicestore equipment and said outside line in order to transmit a voicemessage corresponding to said communicated absence message to saidoutside line.
 23. A message processing method for a PBX which canaccommodate an extension station and voice store equipment,characterized in that said method comprises: a step of transmitting anincoming signal to said voice store equipment on determining that a calldestined for said voice store equipment is present; a step of connectingsaid voice store equipment and said call in response to a lineconnection request from said voice store equipment; a step ofdetermining whether a request for transfer to said extension station ismade from said voice store equipment concerning said call; a step ofdetermining whether an absence message is set to said transfer-requestedextension station in case it is determined that said transfer request isreceived in said transfer request determination step; a step of fetchingan absence message from a storage section in case it is determined thatan absence message is set in said message setting determination step; astep of communicating said absence message fetched from said storagesection to said voice store equipment; and a step of connecting saidvoice store equipment and an outside line in order to transmit a voicemessage corresponding to said communicated absence message to saidoutside line.
 24. A message processing method for a PBX which canaccommodate an extension station and voice store equipment,characterized in that said method comprises: a step of referencing astorage section to determine whether transfer to said voice storeequipment is set to said extension station on determining that a calldestined for said extension station is present; a step of referencingthe storage section to determine whether an absence message is set tosaid destination extension station in case it is determined that saidtransfer is set; a step of fetching an absence message from said storagesection in case it is determined that said absence message is set; astep of communicating said absence message fetched from said storagesection to said voice store equipment; and a step of connecting saidvoice store equipment and an outside line in order to transmit a voicemessage corresponding to said communicated absence message to saidoutside line.